Monthly Archives: May 2016

Daisy For President

Written by Neil Kurtzman | 27th May 2016

Tweet Can a dog run for President of the United States? The answer is an unequivocal yes! Let me quote the Constitution: No person except a natural born citizen , or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adaption of this Constitution shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither…

96-year-old Dr Henry Heimlich Does His Eponymous Maneuver For the First Time

Written by Neil Kurtzman | 27th May 2016

Tweet This one is too good to pass on. Retired surgeon Henry Heimlich performed for the first time the maneuver he invented at the retirement center in Cincinnati that his home. “When he heard that a resident was choking, Perry Gaines, maître d’ for the Deupree House dining room, ran toward the table. Gaines has been…

When to Start Dialysis in Patients with Acute Kidney Injury

Written by Neil Kurtzman | 22nd May 2016

Tweet When to start renal replacement therapy in patients with AKI has been a serious and incompletely answered question for as long as dialysis has been available to treat it. The seriousness of this disorder derives from its frequency, associated mortality, and cost. The JAMA contains a new study, Effect of Early vs Delayed Initiation of…

Shostakovich Violin Concerto #1 and Symphony #11

Written by Neil Kurtzman | 17th May 2016

Tweet Disc 8 of the Shostakovich series, conducted by Valery Gergiev, mentioned in my last post contains the performance of the above music recorded at the Salle Pleyel on February 18, 2014. The soloist is the the great Russian violinist Vadim Repin. The first violin concerto (opus 77) was written in 1947-8. It was dedicated to David…

Shostakovich Complete Symphonies and Concertos

Written by Neil Kurtzman | 14th May 2016

Tweet Arthaus Musik has released an 8 disc DVD set of all the Shostakovich Symphonies and Concertos. Valery Gergiev, perhaps the best conductor of the Russian master now active, leads soloists and the Mariinsky Theater Orchestra and chorus in performances recorded at the Salle Pleyel in Paris. These recording were made in 2013/14. I just…

Javier Camarena

Written by Neil Kurtzman | 10th May 2016

Tweet Mexico is producing great tenors with the same astonishing frequency as the Dominican Republic emits major league baseball players. Javier Camarena is the latest, and perhaps the best, of the Mexican tenors to appear at the world’s great opera houses. He has sung only 20 performances at the Met, but has already emerged as…

About Neil Kurtzman

Neil A Kurtzman MD is the Grover E Murray Professor Emeritus and University Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Department of Internal Medicine at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock. He has combined careers in clinical medicine, education, basic research, and administration for more than 30 years.